US teen jailed for life after murdering family

08/09/2016

Robert Bever is shown in his Tulsa County Jail photo (Reuters)

An Oklahoma teenager pleaded guilty on Wednesday to murdering his parents and three siblings with weapons including knives and a hatchet, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a court official said.

Robert Bever, 19, pleaded guilty to five counts of murder. His brother and co-defendant, Michael Bever, 17, who is also charged as an adult in the case, did not enter a plea and had a June 2017 date set for a trial by jury, the court clerk said.

Robert Bever could have faced the death penalty. Michael Bever, 16, at the time of the killing, is ineligible for the death penalty due to his age.

The brothers were charged with bludgeoning and stabbing to death their parents, David and April Bever, two brothers and a sister in July 2015 in their Broken Arrow home, about 24km southeast of Tulsa, police said.

A then 13-year-old sister survived the attack and a two-year-old child was found unharmed, police said.

A 911 call led Broken Arrow officers to a suburban home where they discovered the blood-splattered crime scene. Robert and Michael Bever were tracked down by dogs in a wooded area near the house.

Police said the brothers told them they wanted to be known as famous criminals and launch a nationwide killing spree.